Facebook has called for a federal judge in Miami to summarily dismiss a defamation case brought by Laura Loomer against the social network, arguing that its decision to ban her as a “dangerous individual” does not constitute defamation.
In its motion to dismiss, Facebook argues that “calling someone “dangerous”— or saying that she “promoted” or “engaged” in “hate”— is a protected statement of opinion.”
Citing the fact that other platforms have also banned her, Facebook argues “this is clearly an issue where, at a minimum, reasonable minds can disagree.”
The motion also cites Loomer’s appearances with Gavin McInnes, another person the platform labels “dangerous,” as a justification for her ban. As Breitbart News has exclusively revealed, Facebook even uses off-site behavior to determine whether certain users get banned or not, monitoring the on-platform and off-platform activities of prominent political individuals on an internal file called “Hate Agent policy review.”
Loomer, who is running in the Republican primary to be the congressional candidate in Florida’s 21st district, was banned by Facebook in 2019 after she called Rep. Ilhan Omar “anti-Jewish.”
In a comment to Breitbart News, Loomer said “Facebook had no basis for designating me as a dangerous individual, and when you examine their printed criteria for their dangerous individual policy, it is even more evident that I don’t meet any of the criteria, which includes being a terrorist and mass murderer.”
“My legal team attempted to get discovery in this case, but Facebook objected, and they would rather make excuses for their digital inquisition.”
“I will continue this legal battle for as long as it takes until Facebook is held legally responsible for what they have done. If Facebook is truly innocent as they claim, then they should stop objecting to discovery and should immediately release the names and correspondence that occurred between everyone who was involved in designing and approving the “dangerous individuals and organizations” policy at Facebook, and its application to the select individuals it was applied to.”
“We’re confident of ultimate success with the case,” said Loomer’s attorney in the case, Larry Klayman. “We have the support of the district of columbia who is arguing that there is political discrimination, and this is a case that will probably go all the way to the supreme court.”
Loomer is also fighting an antitrust lawsuit against the tech giants, currently in the D.C. circuit court of appeals. Oral arguments in the case, brought by Loomer and the conservative group Freedom Watch, were initially delayed by the coronavirus, and have now been canceled altogether.
Are you an insider at Google, Reddit, Facebook, Twitter, or any other tech company who wants to confidentially reveal wrongdoing or political bias at your company? Reach out to Allum Bokhari at his secure email address allumbokhari@protonmail.com.
Allum Bokhari is the senior technology correspondent at Breitbart News.